Google Alerts - Sanchez, saying he was forced out, blames politics for a war that has 'no end in sight'
FORT SAM HOUSTON — Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who led coalition troops in Iraq before the Abu Ghraib prison scandal derailed his career, retired Wednesday, saying there is "no end in sight" to that conflict because of partisan U.S. politics and insufficient commitment to victory.
The three-star general, a 33-year veteran and the Army's highest-ranking Hispanic, never got the fourth star some thought he deserved. Instead, he said he was pressured out by Pentagon officials who told him a promotion was not in the Army's best interest even though he was cleared of wrongdoing.
"Retirement is a very difficult thing for me to accept because my soldiers have been fighting and dying for four years now. And we have no end in sight," he said. "To walk away while engaged in battle is not the ethic of a warrior, but I had no choice."
Admittedly disappointed by the course of the war in Iraq, Sanchez said the U.S. will continue to have military problems there until that nation can govern and sustain itself.
"We can kill people there for a decade," he said, but issues will persist "until you can sort out the economic and political issues of that country."
Further, "America has not been fully committed to win this war ... Our nation has not focused on the greatest challenge of our lifetime ... Partisan politics have hindered this war effort and America should not accept this," he said.
The 55-year-old native of Rio Grande City said he wants to be remembered "as a man of character, as a man that cared for his soldiers, that served his country honorably, and a man of integrity."
Sanchez said he chose Fort Sam Houston for his retirement ceremony because it was where his service began in 1973.
He served in the first Gulf War, Kosovo and Germany, and he's best known for his service in Iraq in 2003-04, when he commanded coalition ground forces.
Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, praised Sanchez's decades of service.
"I've never stood by a better soldier in tougher times," Abizaid said.